Friday, March 09, 2007

Time to get back to a playoff chase, eh? Atlanta and Tampa opened up 9 and 7 point leads on the Canes this week. It's looking like a repeat division title is gonna out for the champs. C'est la vie. Still time for some cheap shots before I have to gush in praise of the new SE boss.

Here's what happened among the other contenders this week while the Canes were recuperating and getting new tattoos:

Atlanta - 4 pts

Boston - Nil

Montreal- Nil

Islanders-1 pt

Rangers -4 pts

Florida-1 pt

Toronto-2 pts

The Canes are in 9th place in the conference, but none of the other contenders for the 8th spot and that dream matchup against the Sabres (arrghhh) are tearing things up right now. The Islanders have had a bad week. Chris Simon'sscimitar chop on Ryan Hollweg last night was frighteningly brutal. It also set up the Rangers for their second consecutive victory over the Isles. Much as I'd like to be a closet Islanders rooter, it's hard to pull for a team with bookend thugs like Simon and Brendan Witt.

The contests tonight against the frustrated Craps, and Sunday in NYC will be critical. A listless performance in either of these two very winnable tilts will put the Canes in a hole just in time for back-to-back games against New Jersey. That would be death. If we see a rejuvenated team and resilient performances - as in coming back from behind to win in the third - tonight and Sunday, I will start to feel pretty positive about the Canes chances of getting in. Come on boys, lay the body on them thar Euros and all will be good.

Getting in is key. Anything can happen if the Canes can just get in. Buffalo is banged up again. Might be fun to walk in as a huge underdog.